Personality psychology is getting personal: Advancing the field through personalization

Abstract

While many basic research fields of psychology are mostly concerned with the search for general laws, personality psychology is also—and perhaps even primarily—tasked with studying individuality. Describing, explaining, predicting, or changing the experiential-behavioral reality of the individual person requires research methodologies that support valid person-level inferences, grounded in precise assessments and suitable statistical analyses. Traditional population-based methodologies often fall short because population-to-individual generalizability cannot be readily assumed, and one-size-fits-all approaches do not do justice to the individual. We propose that, in personality psychology and beyond, research processes must be personalized to effectively capture and address the complex nuances of individual personalities. Personalization may include developing person-specific psychometric tools, study designs, analytical models, and interventions. Such tailored approaches could not only enhance personality research but also aid in uncovering general psychological principles that manifest differently, perhaps even uniquely, across individuals. Moreover, the broader trend towards personalized solutions in fields like psychotherapy, health psychology, and educational psychology creates an opportunity for personality psychology to demonstrate and broaden its practical relevance.Plain language summaryWhile many areas of psychology focus on finding general rules that apply to everyone, personality psychology also focuses on studying single persons. To truly understand and influence a person’s behavior and experiences, researchers need the right methods for studying that person. Traditional research methods often fail because they assume what works for the average person works for everyone, which is rarely true. We suggest that in personality psychology, and other areas, research should be tailored to individuals. This could mean creating tailored tools and methods for each person. Personalized approaches could improve our understanding of personality and help find general psychological principles that apply differently to different people. Additionally, personality psychology could be practically useful for personalized approaches in fields like therapy, health psychology, and education.